As Britain's first official astronaut prepares for his mission to the
International Space Station in 2015, he offers his advice on how to qualify
for a place in space.

Major Tim Peake, 41, has been announced today as one of the astronauts selectedto fly on a five-month mission on the ISS in 2015, in a move hailed as a major boost for the UK’s space industry.

The former Army helicopter pilot has been waiting for a mission since graduating as a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut more than two years ago.

There had been fears that he would be given a short-duration mission because of the UK’s modest contributions to the ESA. Maj Peake is considered Britain’s first official spaceman because previous UK citizens have either secured private funding or taken out American citizenship to make it into orbit.

Speaking at the Science Museum after his place on the European Space Agency mission was officially announced on Monday, Mr Peake revealed his top tips for future budding astronauts.

"We all come from different backgrounds, some have been schoolteachers, some engineers, some pilots, like myself so really the main key is to be passionate about what you do, to be as good as you can be at what you do, and really just to follow your dream," Major Peake said.

Former astronaut Thomas Reiter, who was also at the Science Museum for the announcement, advised budding astronauts to be a "good team player, you should have a good physical constitution, you should have studied in natural sciences, biology, engineering, medicine and you should have some affinity for foreign languages."

Maj Peake, who served for 18 years in the British Army including terms in Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan, was selected by the ESA from more than 8,000 candidates, along with five other colleagues from around Europe.